Frostbite
by Aisyy
Summary: An accident occurs when Beetlejuice and Lydia go ice-skating. One-shot. Pretty sad. Complete. BjXLydia


1A/N: A small one-shot set in the cartoon version. This was written to break me of my writers block.

It's strictly cartoon-verse.

---

Frost Bite

---

Beetlejuice grinned to himself before lazily folding his hands back behind his head. Lydia shook her head at him floating about her bedroom.

"You could help me find them." She said pulling small objects out the chest at the foot over her bed. Lydia heard him groan. "It'd be nice and then we could leave."

Beetlejuice lowered himself onto her bed and looked her over. He chuckled at her frustrated expression which clashed with how cute he found her dressed up in winter wear. "Try your closet." He said with a certainty that made Lydia raise an eyebrow.

"You sound pretty certain of that. Did you hide them on purpose again?" The question make Beetlejuice cry in mock pain and throw a hand over his chest.

"Would I ever do such a thing to you Babes?" He asked giving her a sad look. Lydia just giggled loudly and nodded her head. She got up off the floor where she had been sitting and walked over to her closet. "You know it's all in fun. You're cute when you're frustrated."

Lydia looked back at him with a slight blush on her cheeks. His eyes widened at seeing it. "My mistake, you're cuter when you blush." In embarrassment Lydia tore her face away and opened her closet and just as Beetlejuice had suggested, her ice-skates hung from their laces on the clothes rack. Smiling she untied the laces and removed the skates from her closet. Slinging them over her shoulder Lydia looked over at her best friend.

"Are you ready to go now?" She asked.

Beetlejuice jumped to his feet and moved to her bedroom door. Lydia watched him open the door and bow. "Lady's first." He said to her looking up. His comment only gained a snort from the girl before him.

---

It was almost dusk by the time the two made their way to the river. It as quiet tonight, no one was around. They were all alone to enjoy the evening.

The two friends sat down on the riverside admiring the way the sun glinted off the smooth ice. Lydia sighed peacefully as she removed one of her boots and replaced it with her left ice-skate.

"Nice out eh?" Beetlejuice mused out load. Lydia nodded in agreement, lacing up her skate.

"Hey BJ, it looks safe out there to you right?" She asked moving to remove her right boot.

Beetlejuice jumped up to his feet and exclaimed, "No problem Babes." He bound out onto the frozen river. For a second Beetlejuice managed to gracefully slide over the ice in his boots before starting to stumble. He flailed his arm trying to regain balance but failed and fell forward on the ice. In defeat Beetlejuice lay his face down against the chilly surface.

Lydia laughed in amusement. She stood up and hobbled onto the river behind her friend. Once out on the ice her unsteady wattle became an elegant glide.

Beetlejuice pushed himself up off the ice to float over it in the air. His breath would have been knocked out of him watching Lydia skate. That is, if he needed to breathe. It was almost like watching an angel fly. She was so surprisingly refined.

"Are you okay Beetlejuice?" She asked with concern he knew to be completely genuine.

In return he merely shrugged and started to "skate" circles around her.

"BeeJ it doesn't count if you aren't actually on the ice." Lydia pointed out as they began skating along side each other.

"Doesn't count my foot Lyds." He snorted turning up his nose. Beetlejuice flew off ahead performing mock ice-skating acrobatics. Chuckling to herself, Lydia sped up after him.

"You're such a show off."

"And you, Babes, are jealous!" He called back over his shoulder.

Lydia skates ran over the ice quickly as she tried to catch up to her friend. Breathing heavily and tired she slowly glided to a stop.

"B! Come back here!" Lydia called. She pushed a lock of hair away from her eyes. Realizing how far down river they had gone she called out again. "Come back BeeJ!"

With no reply from the oblivious poltergeist Lydia shook her head and set off after him again, slowly this time. She carried on in silence until a soft crack caught her attention.

Lydia looked down at the ice underneath her feet. The sound was shortly followed by multiple others, louder and more unsettling.

"BJ!" Lydia cried out, eyes wide. A little red light when off in her head. This wasn't safe. She pushed off trying to turn around; unaware of the stress it put on the ice. The surface was cracked in places now from the pressure of escaping air pockets.

Down river Beetlejuice laughed hearing his Lydia's frustrated yelling. Smiling with a devilish charm he turned back to rejoin her.

In a panic Lydia became careless with her footing. The teeth of one of her ice-skates hit a crack causing her to fall down onto her hands and knees. From the sudden shift of weight and the impact of her body against the ice, the layers between Lydia and the river below finally broke apart.

When Beetlejuice turned he only saw the hole in the ice. It didn't take a genius to know what happened.

No amount of air would have done Lydia any good. She had gotten her lungs filled half way before being submerged under the water. From the shock of the temperature she expelled all air.

The plummet in bitter temperature made Lydia stiffen. The ice water pinched her skin like needles. She was dragged down in the suction; the pressure on her head made her sick from the pain. The icy water almost seemed to burn her throat.

It felt like her insides were being coated in ice. Her heart didn't want to work and her lungs were only filling with water.

Lydia was numb to everything. It was painful to move, impossible to think. She felt heavy and confused.

To her it felt like an eternity being immersed in the river, yet it felt like it barely happened at all. One second she felt trapped and the next she found herself spread out over the ice choking up river water.

Beetlejuice, when she looked up, was soaked. His hair laid flat over his face and was dripping. Had he went in the water after her? She couldn't tell. She could only cough hard trying to wrench the water from her system.

Beetlejuice pulled her hair back in an attempt to calm her down. His efforts were in vain.

As Lydia caught her breath she started to shiver. She could barely feel her limbs. She did, how ever, feel herself being picked up by Beetlejuice.

He looked down at the poor girl curled up into his chest. Her eyes were foggy and downcast, showing only a glimpse of life. Her lips were turning purple from the cold. Beetlejuice could tell how hard it was for her to keep breathing. He felt so sorry for her.

"Hang on Lyds. I'm taking you home." Beetlejuice told her softly. He gave her a small smile in a silent attempt to reassure her that things would be alright. It was a smile he would grow to regret.

---

It took only a second for Beetlejuice to send the two of them home. Back in her room, Beetlejuice felt more confused then ever. He didn't know what to do for her.

He couldn't get her parents. They would only panic upon seeing him in their home.

Beetlejuice set Lydia on her bed. Gently he removed her skates and socks before taking her mittens and jacket from her. Her pulled back her covers and wrapped her in their plush warmth. He sat down on the bed next to her and adjusted the sheets around her to dry her off. Her shirt and pants were soaking wet and made the blankets damp.

"Lyds…" He whispered wrapping his arms around her tightly. She didn't speak, only shivered. Beetlejuice rubbed her back trying to warm her up. He knew it wasn't working for he had no body heat to give her. It was the first time he ever cursed being dead.

"Sleep?…" Lydia mumbled out.

"Not now Lyds. You have to stay awake." He told her. Though it didn't matter. Lydia was young, small; her body couldn't handle this. Beetlejuice could feel her life slowly fading.

"Please Beetlejuice?"

He wanted to say no again but there was no point I denying her sleep. Tucking the blankets closer to her body he left her drift off.

He held her close and stared into oblivion. Beetlejuice could hear her breathing begin to falter. Lydia's lame heart was only getting weaker. He could feel it against his abdomen. It was so distinct that he could count each pulse.

And he was.

'_36…_' Beetlejuice counted in his head. _'37…38…' _Each beat grew more and more spaced out.

'_39'_

He waited for the next beat… but it didn't come.

Beetlejuice didn't cry. He wasn't sure why but all the same, he didn't.

All he did was stand up. Looking down at his best friend his heart sunk down into his stomach.

He bent down and placed a kiss on Lydia's temple. The last thing he did was whisper an apology before leaving.

---

Back in the Neitherworld, Beetlejuice slumped back onto his couch. He rubbed his nose still expecting to start crying at any minute. He still didn't. He only let out a heart broken moan and covered his face with his hands.

There was a quiet knock at his front door which made Beetlejuice snap.

"WHAT?" He shouted at the guest outside.

The door opened slightly and a head poked around the side. Beetlejuice sat up, staring at the being in his doorway.

"Lyds?" He couldn't believe his eyes. She smiled at him sweetly.

She was still wearing the same black pants and the purple shirt she had under her coat. Her feet were bare and Beetlejuice could see that her toes, along with her fingers, where a deep purple and that her nails were black from frost bite.

Her skin was paler now and tinted a gentle blue. But her happy smile, even when a dark light black, held all the life she had a short time ago.

With a giggle that was all too familiar to Beetlejuice, Lydia leaped forward at her friend. He moved to stand but was knocked back down by Lydia jumping to hug him.

The two lay on the couch. Lydia nestled up underneath Beetlejuice's chin and his arms protectively around her small waist.

"You weren't worried, were you BJ?" She asked him.

"Oh, I was scared to death Babes," He replied chuckling.


End file.
